My Birth Story by Gurpreet Satpal

By Web Editor

Birth Story by Gurpreet Satpal

I found out I was pregnant on 12 February 2015 and my husband and I were over the moon. Then the natural worry starts- of waiting to see if everything is ok. We just wanted the baby to be well and healthy so when we went for our first check up and they told us it was actually twins we were so happy if not a little shocked! We were told that we were having identical twins and the babies were sharing the same placenta. This also meant that I would be monitored regularly as the babies could develop twin to twin syndrome at any point in the pregnancy. I would need to be seen every 2 weeks for scans to see how babies were developing so they could catch any signs of twin to twin syndrome early.

I really enjoyed my pregnancy and it was pretty smooth sailing apart from the worry at every scan (and there were a lot of them!). I was pretty much holding my breath until the consultant would say the babies are fine. I got all day nausea until about 19 weeks but then that fizzled out eventually. I had to travel into London for work all week so by the end of the day I was quite tired and feeling pretty sick. I had very strange cravings for cheesy wotsits and dairy lea sandwiches and I did get a few raised eyebrows from colleagues when they saw that I was eating that pretty much everyday for a few weeks. I usually have a very sweet tooth but didn’t really fancy anything sweet and went more for the savory when my appetite came back.

At 33 weeks I went for my usual fortnightly check up and they did a urine test like they do with every pregnancy (just more regularly) and took my blood pressure. My urine test indicated some protein and my blood pressure was slightly higher than normal. They sent the urine to the laboratory to see how much protein was in there and asked me to relax so they could take my blood pressure over the course of half an hour. The blood pressure results came back fine but they asked me to wait at the hospital until the urine results came back. The doctor came and asked me to come into a private waiting room and I knew it wasn’t looking good, I had suddenly developed pre-eclampsia. The results had come back very high and they had to admit me straight away so that they could start to monitor the babies. I was none the wiser, as I felt perfectly fine and would never have known if that appointment was not scheduled in. It just shows how important having regular check-ups are if you are carrying twins as you are more likely to develop pre-eclampsia. I asked if I could go home and get my hospital bags and they said no they had to monitor me straight away and the babies may have to be delivered today. I think this was a shock as I had the 27 Sept booked in for my c-section and this was fixed in my head. I was admitted into hospital on Monday 7 Sept and had blood pressure checks and blood work done throughout the day during the time I was in hospital. I felt like a pincushion but I knew it was for my own good! My blood pressure crept up and I needed medication to stabilise it.

Kingston hospital were brilliant and really looked after us. We were taken round to the neo-natal unit to prepare us just in case the babies were not well or as strong. When you see the tiny babies in there that are not so well it is upsetting. I was also given two steroid injections to ensure that the babies’ lungs were developed enough (those hurt!). The consultant wanted the babies inside me as long as possible and I made it to 34 weeks- any longer and there was a higher risk to the babies and me and we didn’t want to take that risk. We were told that the babies would be delivered on Thursday 10 Sept however that morning we were told that there were no incubators left and that we may possibly have to deliver the following week. We were quite upset, as I knew this was risky even though we were reassured that they would be keeping a close eye on me. They knew it was very possible that the babies would need special care so they wanted to be sure that they had the right equipment available.

My husband and I started discussing whether St George’s hospital would be able to deliver today but we really didn’t want to be moved to another hospital at this stage. Within 20mins the doctor came back and said that there were incubators available and that I would be having the babies today- I was third in line for a c-section. I started to gather my things and within a few minutes I was told that actually I would be first as it would be best if the twins were delivered first in case there were any issues. I didn’t have much time to think or worry (I’m terrified of needles!) I walked to theatre and everyone was very nice and friendly and put me at ease. We were allowed to have the music of our choice playing in the background and thankfully it was of similar taste as the anesthetist playlist! They numbed me waist down and within minutes our beautiful girls Naiya and Sienna were born a minute apart. Naiya was 3lbs and Sienna 4lbs. They were very tiny but very alert. They spent two and half weeks in neo-natal and the staff there were brilliant. The girls were well looked after and we appreciate everything the staff did. The girls eventually came home on 27 September and have been doing very well. They have been invited back to Kingston after a year to take part in a graduation ceremony for all the special care babies. We are very proud of them and sometimes can’t believe they are ours. We have enjoyed every minute so far and they are a joy to be around- despite all the hard work and sleepless nights.

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